Ramos: Football Leaks anti-doping allegations 'a lie'

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos dismissed anti-doping allegations against him as a "lie" after the 3-0 loss to Eibar on Saturday, November 24.

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos dismissed anti-doping allegations against him as a "lie" after the 3-0 loss to Eibar on Saturday, November 24. (Juan Manuel Serrano Arce / Getty Images)

Thomas AllnuttAFP

Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos has dismissed anti-doping allegations against him as a "lie" and a deliberate attempt to tarnish his reputation.

According to the German magazine Der Spiegel, Ramos failed to declare he had taken dexamethasone ahead of the 2017 Champions League final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, in which Real beat Juventus 4-1.

The club denied the claims on Friday night and Ramos, speaking after Real lost 3-0 at Eibar on Saturday, made a staunch defence of his record.

"I am calm," Ramos said. "It is true that it hurts, and obviously I will come out with my legal team against these people, who try to stain my status and my professional career.

"After 15 years, I have never refused an anti-doping test, I have never breached any procedure and I have passed around 250 to 300 tests. For this reason, I am calm."

Ramos added: "When you know the truth, you can act with a lot of tranquility. You can tell the lie many times over but it is still a lie."

Dexamethasone is a glucocorticoid on the banned list of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The substance can have anti-inflammatory effects and increase concentration.

WADA does not prohibit players taking dexamethasone before games, as long as it is declared during a doping test. Der Spiegel claims Ramos and the Real Madrid team doctor instead registered betamethasone, another glucocorticoid on WADA's banned list.

However the magazine also reports that UEFA were satisfied the mistake was an administrative error and took no disciplinary action.

In a statement, Real Madrid said that Ramos "has never breached the anti-doping control regulations" and that UEFA "closed the matter immediately", following the "verification of experts from the World Anti-Doping Agency, AMA, and UEFA itself".

The club continued: "Regarding the rest of the content from the aforementioned publication, the club will not pronounce on evidence that is so insubstantial."

Dutch portal Football World Rankings released its latest ranking of the top managers in the world of soccer based on their results over the past 52 weeks, a list in which Manchester City's Pep Guardiola and Tottenham's Mauricio Pochettino fail to crack the top ten.

(Juan Pimiento)

CAPTION

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina slammed third-tier Pro Piacenza's 20-0 defeat by Cuneo on Sunday as an "insult to sport" after the losing side fielded just seven players.

Financially troubled Pro Piacenza have been unable to pay their players and staff, who have been on strike for several weeks.

Before Sunday's game at Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy, bottom club Pro Piacenza had already forfeited three matches and a fourth would have seen them kicked out of Serie C.

So they took to the pitch with seven players, all teenagers born between 2000 and 2002. An eighth player could not initially start having forgotten his identity papers and came on after an hour.

One of the two players born in 2000 was named on the match sheet as the coach.

With information from AFP.

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina slammed third-tier Pro Piacenza's 20-0 defeat by Cuneo on Sunday as an "insult to sport" after the losing side fielded just seven players.

Financially troubled Pro Piacenza have been unable to pay their players and staff, who have been on strike for several weeks.

Before Sunday's game at Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy, bottom club Pro Piacenza had already forfeited three matches and a fourth would have seen them kicked out of Serie C.

So they took to the pitch with seven players, all teenagers born between 2000 and 2002. An eighth player could not initially start having forgotten his identity papers and came on after an hour.

One of the two players born in 2000 was named on the match sheet as the coach.

With information from AFP.

CAPTION

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina slammed third-tier Pro Piacenza's 20-0 defeat by Cuneo on Sunday as an "insult to sport" after the losing side fielded just seven players.

Financially troubled Pro Piacenza have been unable to pay their players and staff, who have been on strike for several weeks.

Before Sunday's game at Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy, bottom club Pro Piacenza had already forfeited three matches and a fourth would have seen them kicked out of Serie C.

So they took to the pitch with seven players, all teenagers born between 2000 and 2002. An eighth player could not initially start having forgotten his identity papers and came on after an hour.

One of the two players born in 2000 was named on the match sheet as the coach.

With information from AFP.

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina slammed third-tier Pro Piacenza's 20-0 defeat by Cuneo on Sunday as an "insult to sport" after the losing side fielded just seven players.

Financially troubled Pro Piacenza have been unable to pay their players and staff, who have been on strike for several weeks.

Before Sunday's game at Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy, bottom club Pro Piacenza had already forfeited three matches and a fourth would have seen them kicked out of Serie C.

So they took to the pitch with seven players, all teenagers born between 2000 and 2002. An eighth player could not initially start having forgotten his identity papers and came on after an hour.

One of the two players born in 2000 was named on the match sheet as the coach.

With information from AFP.

CAPTION

Bayern Munich got off to an inauspicious start in their Bundesliga match against Bavarian rivals Augsburg as midfielder Leon Goretzka scored in his own goal 13 seconds into the match.

Bayern Munich got off to an inauspicious start in their Bundesliga match against Bavarian rivals Augsburg as midfielder Leon Goretzka scored in his own goal 13 seconds into the match.

CAPTION

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was comically caught off guard when informed about Benjamin Mendy's Instagram post announcing his location as Hong Kong.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola was comically caught off guard when informed about Benjamin Mendy's Instagram post announcing his location as Hong Kong.

CAPTION

A week removed from Nantes's emotional display, Cardiff followed suit with an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala, who signed with the Welsh club before his disappearance, ahead of their first home game since the Argentine was reported missing.

A week removed from Nantes's emotional display, Cardiff followed suit with an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala, who signed with the Welsh club before his disappearance, ahead of their first home game since the Argentine was reported missing.

CAPTION

Nantes paid an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday before their first match since their former striker's plane disappeared over the Channel last week.

The 28-year-old had been traveling from Nantes to his new club Cardiff City when the plane went missing, with pilot David Ibbotson the only other person on board.

British investigators said earlier on Wednesday it was "likely" that two seat cushions that have washed up on the French shore were from the missing aircraft.

Nantes unveiled a large photo of Sala in the centre-circle before kick-off in the Ligue 1 game against Saint-Etienne, while the Argentine's former teammates donned T-shirts with "we love you Emi" written on the back.

All the Nantes players played in shirts featuring Sala's name instead of their own.

Former Nantes forward Yacine Bammou, who became a close friend of Sala's before leaving for Caen, was in tears in the stands, while coach Vahid Halilhodzic also struggled to contain his emotions.

Sala scored 42 league goals in 120 appearances for Nantes before signing for Cardiff in a 17-million-euro ($19.3-million) move.

He had visited his former teammates in Nantes on January 21 to say goodbye before flying towards Cardiff on the Piper PA-46 Malibu plane.

The official search was suspended last Thursday, but Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it would start an underwater search this weekend, working alongside a privately-funded search.

Hundreds of Nantes fans had held a vigil in the French city last week shortly after the first searches had failed to find the player.

"I did not have much hope. Now we must try to mourn and then move forward," said 69-year-old Nantes supporter Andree Guittet.

With information from AFP.

Nantes paid an emotional tribute to Emiliano Sala at the Stade de la Beaujoire on Wednesday before their first match since their former striker's plane disappeared over the Channel last week.

The 28-year-old had been traveling from Nantes to his new club Cardiff City when the plane went missing, with pilot David Ibbotson the only other person on board.

British investigators said earlier on Wednesday it was "likely" that two seat cushions that have washed up on the French shore were from the missing aircraft.

Nantes unveiled a large photo of Sala in the centre-circle before kick-off in the Ligue 1 game against Saint-Etienne, while the Argentine's former teammates donned T-shirts with "we love you Emi" written on the back.

All the Nantes players played in shirts featuring Sala's name instead of their own.

Former Nantes forward Yacine Bammou, who became a close friend of Sala's before leaving for Caen, was in tears in the stands, while coach Vahid Halilhodzic also struggled to contain his emotions.

Sala scored 42 league goals in 120 appearances for Nantes before signing for Cardiff in a 17-million-euro ($19.3-million) move.

He had visited his former teammates in Nantes on January 21 to say goodbye before flying towards Cardiff on the Piper PA-46 Malibu plane.

The official search was suspended last Thursday, but Britain's Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) said it would start an underwater search this weekend, working alongside a privately-funded search.

Hundreds of Nantes fans had held a vigil in the French city last week shortly after the first searches had failed to find the player.

"I did not have much hope. Now we must try to mourn and then move forward," said 69-year-old Nantes supporter Andree Guittet.